Anatomy & Physiology

[Zsadist]

A dragon looks much like a reptile, at least at first glance. It has a muscular body, a long, thick neck, a horned head, and a sinuous tail.

Dragons are different sizes, of course. They start out as eggs, from 2-4 feet in length, and about half that in diameter. These eggs vary in size depending on the dragon type, but are usually the same color as the mother dragon. As adults, some species of dragons can be as long as 300 feet, with a wingspan of 600 feet.

A dragon's eye has a large iris and a vertical pupil, like a cat. This allows the pupil to open extremely wide and admit much more light than a human eye. The iris of a dragon's eye is often not white, but yellow, gold, green, orange, red, or silver. The color will match that of the scales.

A dragon's eye is protected by a leathery outer eyelid and three smooth inner eyelids. The innermost membrane is crystal clear and protects the eye from damage while the dragon flies. The other two eyelids mainly serve to keep the eye clean. They are not as thin nor clear as the innermost membrane. A dragon can use these inner lids to protect its eyes from sudden flashes of bright light.

When born, a dragon's scales are as soft as tissue paper, and slowly harden as the dragon ages. During the first year of life, a dragon's scales will be very soft and supple. Over time, they will become as hard as stone or steel. Metallic dragons' scales start out very dull, but become shinier throughout the life of the dragon.







Information from draconika.